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But apparently, the woman was not okay with it. She also revealed herself to be racist.
TikToker Riah Elese–a.k.a. @riahelese–caught the White woman texting about the minor incident after she received an apology for it.
In the visible text message, the woman ignorantly referred to Elese's hair as "dreads" and "corn rows" instead of box braids.
The woman also used a racial slur to describe Elese.
The overlaid text in the clip Elese posted on TikTok explained:
"Read what she texted her family."
At the bottom of the clip, Elese emphasized that she apologized to the woman twice and added:
"White people are crazy."
When pausing the video, the woman's text message can be read as follows:
"Just got whipped with some NASTY dreads/corn rows of a k**n while getting her luggage."
"They have no respect, patience. Cattle for sure. I'm OUT!"
@riahelese/TikTok
@riahelese/TikTok
In a follow-up video, Elese said she was sitting across the aisle from the passenger during the flight. The video was taken after they landed and she was retrieving her belongings from the overhead bin.
In the process of getting her phone out of another bag, she flicked her box braids–a type of hair-braiding popular among African American people as a "protective style"–and felt it hit the woman.
She immediately apologized and said she didn't mean for it to happen.
@riahelese/TikTok
The woman appeared to be fine with it but what Elese subsequently saw on the woman's phone indicated otherwise.
That was when Elese started filming the TikTok video while she remained standing in the aisle waiting to debark.
When Elese caught the woman covertly taking pictures of her, Elese asked her why she did that and explained snapping a photo of her without permission was "disrespectful."
The woman told her the reason was that Elese was "in her space."
@riahelese/TikTok
@riahelese/TikTok
At the end of the clip, she expressed her appreciation for all the support she received in the comments.
"I didn't post this for clout or anything," she said. "I just posted it to show that racism is still a real thing here in 2022, and I think it's crazy that some people think it just ‘magically doesn’t exist.'"
In response to TikTokers asking why she "didn't do more" during the encounter, Elese said she didn't want to give in to the woman who was trying to get a reaction out of her.
@riahelese/TikTok
Elese added in the comments, "a ton of people are saying i could have done more but i feel like if i did she would have did the most and i have too much to lose."